Man sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping 17-year-old girl

An Ikeja Special Offences Court has sentenced one Francis Apai, a driver to 15 years imprisonment for raping his employer’s 17-year-old daughter in Lagos State.

Presiding judge, Justice Sherifat Solebo, sentenced Apai, after finding him guilty of a one-count charge of sexual assault by penetration.

The judge said “The defendant, Francis Apai, is hereby sentenced to 15 years imprisonment without an option of fine,” .

The Prosecutor, Ms Iyabode Oshodi, while presenting the case had told the court that the driver, who resides at No. 129, Aina Street, Isheri, Lagos, committed the offence on Nov. 19, 2014, at the complainant’s home in Lagos.

The complainant while narrating the incident in court said she was violently attacked and raped by Apai, who was her mother’s driver.

She said “On the day of the incident, I was at home alone because my parents had taken my younger brother, who had fallen ill to the hospital.

“While I was preparing a meal in the kitchen, he approached me with a knife and threatened to harm me if I refused to comply to his sexual demands.

”I tried to struggle my way out but he dragged me into one of the bedroom and continually punched, strangled and raped me.

“I ran to a neighbour’s house with blood flowing down my legs and they gave me a wrapper to cover myself up.

“My neighbours took me to the police station and then to the hospital.”

However, the accused Apai denied the accusations leveled against him adding that the compliant has been the one inviting him over.

According to him, the complainant had through three phone calls, invited him to her home and made a meal for him.

“While I was done with the food, she told me to take a look at the photos, she had downloaded in her phone.

“While I was looking at the photos and films, I got to a part where I saw XXX, which were porn videos.

“When I decided to look at one of the porn videos, she took the phone from me saying that she did not want me to see the videos.

“After a while, I left through the front door because someone opened the kitchen door.

“That day was a work-free day for me, so I went back to my house but later went to a viewing centre,” he said.